Diddio's blood-alcohol test comes back at 0.25%

Kim Diddio, president of Stroudsburg Borough Council, had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when she crashed her car into a utility pole in East Stroudsburg on Jan. 6.

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By WILLIAM DOOLITTLE

poconorecord.com

By WILLIAM DOOLITTLE

Posted Jan. 20, 2007 at 12:06 AM
Updated Jan 20, 2007 at 12:45 AM

By WILLIAM DOOLITTLE

Posted Jan. 20, 2007 at 12:06 AM
Updated Jan 20, 2007 at 12:45 AM

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LEGAL FALLOUT

A blood-alcohol concentration, or BAC, of 0.16 or more lands a drunk driver in the highest category of DUI penalties.

First offenders, like Kim Diddio, are usually accorded accelerated rehab...

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LEGAL FALLOUT

A blood-alcohol concentration, or BAC, of 0.16 or more lands a drunk driver in the highest category of DUI penalties.

First offenders, like Kim Diddio, are usually accorded accelerated rehabilitative disposition, or ARD.

ARD is a pre-trial intervention program designed to keep first-time, nonviolent offenders out of jail.

Although judges in Pennsylvania have wide latitude in sentencing and each county has its own rules, under ARD the highest category BAC offenders must be given at least a 60-day license suspension.

ARD treatment results in no jail time and a greatly reduced license suspension. Even so, by law, offenders admitted into the program serve six to 24 months of probation and must complete Alcohol Highway Safety School, undergo a Court Reporting Network drug and alcohol evaluation and perform at least 12 hours of community service.

"It's very sad," Baughman said. "Everyone deserves one mistake. I'd hate not to support her on the basis of that."

Several of Diddio's borough council colleagues have publicly supported her for the past two weeks and urged her not to resign.

Diddio, 36, was arrested on suspicion of DUI following an accident on Washington Street in East Stroudsburg at about 1:40 a.m., Jan. 6.

Her car ran off the road and hit a utility pole as she approached the Interborough Bridge near Mesko Glass Co. Diddio said she became distracted as she reached for her purse, which had fallen onto the floor.

Her car flipped over and the sheared pole fell on two cars in the Mesko Glass parking lot.

Diddio crawled out of her car, dazed and bruised, but no one was seriously hurt.

Diddio was taken to the Monroe County DUI Center, where she agreed to give a blood sample.

Shortly after the accident, Diddio, a Republican, withdrew from the race for district judge from Stroudsburg. She had announced her intention to run just two weeks before.

Diddio was elected to borough council in November 2003 and took office in 2004. Her term expires at the end of this year.